Need help, suggestions for Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia
 

I was wondering if anyone had done a similair trip to all these places?

My husband and I are moving to Spain from Paris, whilst he completes his MBA studies. For easter, he has 11-24th of March off, so we thought that both our parents and we could do a trip.
We would start in Barcelona and then try to see all these places. Is this really too much to do in such a short time?

Should Croatia be a seperate trip? how many days can one do, and how does one get around? is the train quite good, or are we looking to fly?

Need a great starting point please. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated !!

I would say that four countries in 13-14 days is too much. We spent 11 days just in Czech Republic and Slovakia this year. Even if you were only going to spend two-three days in each of the capital cities you would really be pushing the pace, by the time you allow for the transfers between each one.

I think you need to give consideration as to what you exactly want to see. Do you intend to spend any time in the countryside or just the major cities? Personally we love the countryside, but that is us. You need to investigate closely what are the options in terms of trains or planes, connection times etc and, to a fair extent, that will determine what you can and can't fit in.

As we hired a car and drove ourselves I can't give any recommendations on whether to train or fly.

You'll start in Barcelona? That means you're flying out of Barcelona, right? Or do you consider driving from Barcelona to Slovenia? That's a trip for itself!

Beside that, mid March is off-season. Most hotels on the Croatian coast will be closed. The mountains (and maybe even the flat land) will be snow covered - and while it's a bit late for a ski trip it is definitely too early for a spring trip. Remember that especially Czech Rep. and Slovakia have much colder winter than France/Spain.

Many castles/churches and other sites of interest in Czech Rep./Slovakia will be closed (except for the absolute top sights in major tourist cities).

I am not exactly sure about Croatia/Slovenia. But I'd definitely recommend against Czech Rep/Slovakia given that you do not plan to just hit Prague and Bratislava. And a look at the map should tell you that doing all four countries at once is not really a good idea.

I.

We were thinking to have everyone visit us, before the 11th of March, in Barcelona, and then, start the trip.
I didnt look at weather at all....
so , we do enjoy big cities, cultural stuff etc..

so, would it be a good time to go to Hungry, Croatia, or Slovania?

I don't know about Hungary but Slovenia and most of Croatia may be cool and rainy in mid March.
The Croatian coast might be a bit warmer but still with some cool winds or rain.
Croatia and Slovenia are small countries - most cities are small and without a lot of "cultural stuff".
( an Opera House, small museums etc)

If you like big cities with a lot of culture ( and wish to go to Central Europe) Vienna and Prague come to mind .
I mid -March most of places in Estern and Central Europe can be rather cold

I would rather be in Spain ,Portugal, France.....

I agree with danon - I'd rather be in Spain, Italy at that time of year (or in the mountains for skiing!).

If you're much into cultural stuff and big cities then visiting Vienna, Prague and Budapest is an option. But I'd never spend two weeks in big cities in one piece. Please remember that it is going to be March - you'll rarely have a chance to enjoy the beautiful (in summer) parks and gardens, no sitting outside a café and do some people watching ...

But as I said, if you don't mind the cultural information overload, lol, then it is doable.

I.

Hi, ash,

what's the rush to head to eastern europe?

as you're moving to spain, what's wrong with having a look at what's on your doorstep? mid-march would be a great time for exploring andalucia, or portugal if you want to go further afield.

other great places that time or year would be sicily, or the naples area, or even, if you're feeling very adventurous, Morocco or Egypt.

you could do bits of the czech republic, slovakia and slovenia in that time, if you didn't want to linger too much. but the weather could be very iffy in the countryside. A better bet might be starting in Berlin, heading through Dresden, and ending up in Prague.

don't forget that Easter sunday falls on March 23rd this year, which may cause some places to be closed.

regards, ann

well, I want to travel a lot! LOL. Have been to Morocco and Egypt (went for our honeymoon 5 years ago)

I was reasearching the temperature, and it seems like Prague, Budapest and Slovania are at a good time of year to visit.

I need visas for most countries I visit, so I am thinking that European is better, since a few more are going to be Schnegan in Jan ( Hungary), so the less visas the better...

Anyone have a starting point?

from Barcelona ,we will fly to Prague then take trains everywhere.. that could work right?

Excluding Barcelona, the trip will be 12 days, so can be managable, correct?

Prague for 3 or 4 nights then take the train to Brno about 3 hours need to look at the time table as some trains are slow and some are fast ones. Stay for 1 or 2 nightsin Brno a lovley place http://www.brno.cz/index.php?lan=en&nav01=57
You can do Bratislava as a day trip from Brno about 1hour maybe 1 hour 30 mins on the train, or From Vienna about 1hour 1 hour 30 from Vienna.

Then train from Brno to Vienna and then Budapest spliting your remaining days bewteen these 2 places. This should help with train times .
http://www.czech.cz/en/mapa/mapa.aspx
http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/JRCis.asp...p=MF&cl=E5